The present invention relates to a meat-like food material having a favorable flavor and a meat-like mouthfeel made from a vegetable protein ingredient and a milk whey protein ingredient and to a meat-like food product (such as a fried food product) produced employing such a material.
JP-A-62-14747 discloses “a method of producing a food product having a meat-like texture” employing a milk whey ingredient, and the method comprised adding water to a milk whey protein concentrate (WPC) up to a water content of 30 to 50%, heating and pressurizing the WPC with an extruder followed by extrusion through a die whose structure prevents a product from swelling to produce a meat-like product.
However, a texturized product obtained by such method has an intense milk odor which is not favorable in a meat-like food material. The mouthfeel resembles fish meat rather than livestock meat. In addition, the wet texturized product is hard to be seasoned upon a secondary seasoning process.
On the other hand, a method of producing a texturized vegetable protein food product with a vegetable protein ingredient as the main ingredient, without a milk whey protein ingredient, has widely been known for a long time.
Recently, patent applications (JP-A-6-98685 and JP-A-6-98686) relating to a meat-like protein food product with a better flavor and a better mouthfeel which was obtained by an improvement of such method were filed.
These patent applications comprises that a composition comprising powdery vegetable protein ingredient (soybean protein or wheat protein) as the main ingredient is combined with a microparticulate silica gel clathrate with seasoning ingredients in an amount of 0.5 to 6.0% by weight based on the main ingredient (or combined with a cyclodextrin clathrate with seasoning ingredients in an amount of 1/5 to 1/100 parts by weight of the main ingredient), and the mixture is kneaded and melted with adding water up to an amount of 1/10 to 1/1 parts by weight of the main ingredient under a high temperature and a high pressure, such as 100 to 200° C. and 5 to 100 kg/cm2, with an extruder and then is extruded via a cooling die to obtain a meat-like protein-containing texturized product.
A texturized product obtained by such method resembles meat in fiber, and is improved when compared with a case of no microparticulate silica gel or cyclodextrin clathrate. However, the texturized product still has a flavor specific to a vegetable protein ingredient, and thereby is not suitable for use as a food material. The texturized product also has a rough swallowing feel.